Fargo, Falls, and a Wedding

After another week of trying to catch up at work... we took off, all together this time, to Sioux Falls/Madison for my cousin, Coley's wedding. It wasn't like it used to be when we picked up to go traveling. Throw stuff in a bag and ship off... no now, it's planning and organizing and packing. Here's what it looked like. a pack and play, a cot, a bag of blankets for pack and play and cot, a bag of toys, a Grady bag, an Eleanor bag, a cooler of Grady food (with milk), a snack bag with other essentials for E, and a bag of diaper items - Oh, and Matt and I's one bag - that we split. Seriously it was a 4 day trip and when you add a double stroller it's a good thing that we had a large SUV.

We broke the trip up into legs to help the sanity of the situation. On Thursday, after work, we fed the kids and then took off to Fargo to stay at Janie's house for the first night. The kids actually did pretty well there. Janie's house isn't kid proof but E and her get along famously so it's totally worth it. We did bring out our toys to keep her entertained. They were impressed with how much Grady had changed in such a short time.

The next morning, after breakfast, we got on the road and headed to Sioux Falls. We did take a stop in the middle at Brookings for a bite and to get the kids legs stretched a bit. They needed the movement but I'll admit, they handled the car ride famously. I think I sat in the backseat for only a short time. E thought it was fun as we still have her rear facing.

When we got to Sioux Falls, we checked into the hotel and headed to the Butterfly house/Aquarium. E had been there just about a year ago and her interaction with it all showed us just how much she has developed. She was much more interested in the ocean scene this go around than the butterfly - opposite of last year. She loved the stingray and the fish and the touching opportunities. There was a lot of "look at that." Makes me smile watching her mind interact and learn with her surrounding. Grady took it all in but may not have appreciated it like she did. He hung out with me mostly. The hard part about the butterfly part was that the room was so hot. He hadn't been feeling well for the past couple days, which adding hotter temps didn't make it much better.

After a trip to World Market (which is essential in Sioux Falls), we headed back to the hotel to play in the pool. We've reached the part of parenting where we now choose locations because of their aquatic facility accommodations. This hotel offered up a water slide, pirate ship, kiddie pool, and larger pool - sold. E had a blast. Grady didn't seem too interested either way! They slept pretty well that night!

 

The next morning was the day of the wedding. Pictures were scheduled during nap time so we were careful in planning our morning, we were there waiting for the pool to open. Played until we hoped they wore out a little and then headed to Minerva's for breakfast - another spot we've had good luck with. We then got on the road and waited for the nap time to settle in. The drive there gave them some time to sleep and when we got to town, we perused the area to scout out locations and whatnot.

MJR: What are we looking for?
ALR: The hotel, the church, the reception.
Pop over the hill
ALR: There's the hotel... so that's one.
MJR: What street is the church on?
ALR: Garfield.
MJR: Well that doesn't help us does it.
ALR: Well, we are on Washington, so I assume we've got to be close.. it's all president streets.
MJR: How can you assume that?
ALR: The next street over is ... (looking) Lincoln. So I would bet Adams may be around here too.
They go two streets over.. Garfield.
ALR: Huh, how about that.
MJR: Okay smarty pants, where is the golf course where the recpetion is then?
ALR: Don't you have a sense for those things like airports?
MJR: Not funny.
ALR: You are right, it isn't funny.

We got into the church in time to change kid clothes and give a bottle before taking family pics. It does amaze me how big the family has gotten with all the grandkids having kids. So many are so close in age... Grady met Maeve who is a month older than him... he also pulled her hair and made her cry. E couldn't exactly keep up with Kate's girls so she played in her own world and showed Grandma all the sights at the reception. It was a cold outdoor reception and it took until the sun went down for the wind to break. By that time, we all had extra layers added on.

The next morning, we met to celebrate Grandpa's 90th birthday. Unfortunately, we had to cut it short because Matt had to be taken to the airport in Sioux Falls to head off to jump start. I took him, mom took the kids, and I met up with them in Watertown where we had lunch. We also broke up the trip by stopping at Janie's giving Eleanor some time to run around a bit and we got Grady crawling across the room. While they didn't really sleep in North Dakota, they did sleep most of the way from Fargo home... which made things so much easier. We got home in time for them to have supper and play a bit. My father was amazed at how much stuff we had packed to which I told him to just unpack it and shush. It was a good trip but it was even better to be home.

One thing that E had really started doing on the trip is calling Grady, Grady Boy. We don't really know how she picked up on that but it made us smile none the less.